


Movie Night of Doom

by CinnamonZor



Series: ShuHaru Week 2019 - A Fool for the Empress [3]
Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Cafe Leblanc (Persona 5), Comfort/Angst, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Futaba Has No Filter, Haru is Scary, LeBlanc Family, Movie Night
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-01
Updated: 2019-05-01
Packaged: 2020-02-10 15:08:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,594
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18662863
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CinnamonZor/pseuds/CinnamonZor
Summary: Day 3 - MoviesAfter everything he'd been through in the past year, there were few things in this world that Akira Kurusu truly feared. Unfortunately, horror movies just so happened to continue being one of those things.





	Movie Night of Doom

"Hey, cool it with the scrubbing!" Sojiro exclaimed upon seeing his charge spaced out in the middle of forcibly doing dishes. "You're gonna snap the damn plate in two!"

"Huh? Oh! My bad, Sojiro," Akira stuttered as the yelling snapped him out of his trance. "Just kinda… on edge today." The middle-aged café owner gave him a perplexed look, wondering what could possibly have Akira of all people so nervous. His question was preemptively answered by his adopted daughter yelling into the kitchen from her seat in one of LeBlanc's booths.

"I bet he's just nervous about his girrrlfriend coming over tonight," Futaba yelled teasingly as she scratched Morgana behind the ears. "What's the big deal, key item? I thought you lovebirds were past the 'constant anxiety' phase of your relationship already. Usually ends by the time you max out the social link and the grinding kicks off, anyway." Sojiro failed to stifle a snort, feeling somewhat conflicted between being amused by the comment and concerned as a father that Futaba would say it so casually.

"Care to repeat that?" Akira growled as he shot his pseudo-sister a dirty glare.

"I said," Futaba repeated even louder, "'IT USUALLY ENDS WHEN THE-…'"

"I was being facetious and you know it, you little perv!" Akira yelled back, fortunately stopping Futaba before she finished the sentence. "And for the record, yes, we are past the 'constant anxiety' phase, and no, there has been no quote-unquote 'grinding,' thank you very much!" He went back to washing the dishes, still pissed at Futaba for her intentionally awkward insinuations.

"Then why are you so nervous?" Sojiro asked, still somewhat confused by Akira's evident sense of impending doom. "Aren't you just watching movies in the attic?" As if in response to his question, Morgana turned to face Futaba and spoke in another strangely long sequence of meows. The orange-haired girl stopped and listened, her face perking up as she pressed her fingertips together and turned back to face Akira.

"Ohhhhhh-ho-ho-ho-ho!" She snickered mischievously. "It's her turn tonight, isn't it?" At that mere reminder of what was likely to come, Akira stopped dead in place, tightly gripping the plate and rag in his hands as he stared blankly at the sink before him. It was then that Sojiro finally connected the dots. He finally realized what had the normally fearless teenager so rattled.

After everything he'd been through in this past year, there were few things in this world that Akira Kurusu truly feared. And it just so happened that horror movies continued to be one of these things.

However, as it turned out, Haru Okumura was an avid enthusiast for the genre. Which is precisely why he always dreaded movie night when it was his girlfriend's turn to pick what they watched. And unfortunately for him, tonight was one of those nights.

"…Yep," he weakly muttered. "You got me. Can we please talk about something else now?"

"Hell no," Futaba chirped. "I like this conversation. Watching you of all people squirm is amusing."

"Futaba," Morgana stated bluntly, "you have serious problems, you know that?"

"Damn straight," she replied matter-of-factly. "I can't believe after everything you survived in the Metaverse you still get freaked out by a couple lousy jump-scares."

"I don't," Akira corrected. "I'm actually way better at stomaching horror than I was before coming here, but Haru's taste is more along the lines of photorealistic gore and insane psychological terror. I don't know how, but she somehow always manages to find something even more traumatically horrifying with each film we watch."

"Let's just say there's a reason I always insist on staying at your place when she picks the movie," Morgana added with a shudder. "I don't what's more unsettling: the movies or Haru herself."

"Why don't you just make some excuse and put it off for a while?" Futaba suggested. "You're going back home in a couple weeks anyway so it's not like you'll have a hard time stalling her out."

"I'm giving you a pass on that because you don't exactly understand, but that's exactly why I need to spend time with her now," Akira shot back. "Besides, I'm not gonna lie to my girlfriend just to get out of watching a movie. And if things keep working out, I should be willing to support her interests as long as I can anyway." He picked up another dirty dish and sighed as he began scrubbing it. "Why must love be so damn painful?"

"Eh," Sojiro sighed. "They say all good relationships are built on compromise. If you're willing to face your fears like this, at least it's a sure sign you've got something good. That or you're just really stupid."

"Fair enough," Akira groaned. "Besides, I guess it could be worse. At least mortal terror's a pretty good excuse to cuddle."

"Would it help if Mona and I watch too?" Futaba suggested. "Couldn't hurt, ya know."

"As in watching the movie or watching me and Haru?" Akira inquired with crossed arms. "Because either way, the answer is no."

"Dammit," Futaba pouted. "He's onto us."

"Don't lump me in with your schemes!" Morgana replied, making sure he was loud enough for Akira to hear him. "And I already said I didn't wanna watch either!"

"Come on, you two," Sojiro sighed, hanging up his apron and shooing the two in the booth from the restaurant. "Hey, Akira, remember to lock up," he called over to the kitchen on his way out the door.

"Kay," Akira yelled back as the bell on the door rang and he was left alone in the café. He pulled out his phone and checked the time. 9:25. Haru was supposed to arrive in five minutes. Exactly five minutes before the most bittersweet date of them all. You'll be fine, Akira told himself. It's just a movie. You're the infamous Joker, for shit's sake! You've dealt with way worse!

And besides, you're doing this for love. Try to remember how much you love and support Haru. Think of how happy she is to be able to share her interests with you. And even if you get scared, she'll be there the entire time.

Yeah. That's it. There's nothing to be afraid of. Everything's gonna be okay. You got this.

SNAP! Plunk!

Akira broke out of his trance at the sound of the plate breaking from the extreme pressure he hadn't realized he was applying and landing in the water below. He paused for a bit, slowly looking from the half in the sink to the half still in his hand.

Maybe I don't got this…

Suddenly, the bell on the door rang again, causing Akira to flinch a little. He quickly picked up the pieces of broken plate and stuffed them in a plastic bag. He'd deal with that tomorrow. For now, he peeked out of the kitchen, confirming his suspicions that a certain fluffy-haired upperclassman had arrived, standing happily in front of the counter and brightening his mood with nothing but her presence.

"Hi, Aki-kun!" she greeted with the nickname she'd taken to calling him as of late. "I'm not too early, am I?"

"Hello to you too, Haru," he chirped as he walked over, taking off his apron and planting a kiss on his girlfriend's forehead. "You can relax. Even if you were early, I'd be more than fine with it."

"Aw." Her smile grew even bigger and she started to blush a bit. "Thank you very much. I will take those words to heart." As Akira went to hang his apron up, Haru excitedly reached into her bag and retrieved the newest addition to her DVD collection, promptly holding it over her mouth for the megane to see. "I'm so excited for movie night! I believe I really found a good one this time!" Akira nervously turned around to look at the case she was proudly displaying.

"The Gamemaster?" he read hesitantly. One look at the eerie, bloodstained marionette on the cover sent a surge of fear and regret straight down Akira's spine. It's like the thing was staring into the darkest recesses of his soul. Sweat began to trickle down the side of his head. "What's, uh… what's it about?"

"The summary on the back says it's about a group of espers trapped in a brutal death game by a sentient marionette," Haru read in her typical cheery voice. "Apparently there aren't many reviews of it available because more than half the critics who watched it were so mortified that they repressed the memory of the film entirely. The clerk at the video store even gave me a funny look and asked me a couple times if I was absolutely sure that I wanted to buy the DVD."

Akira REALLY hoped his glasses were doing a good job of obscuring his now hollow eyes. He began to stare into the void, wondering if there was a way he could subtly burn down the café with the DVD still inside… No, he couldn't destroy Sojiro's business. Besides, just because his first Persona was called Arsene doesn't mean he should commit it himself. Maybe if he…

"-kira? Is something wrong?"

"Huh? Wh-what?" Akira snapped out of his trance, realizing how long he'd been staring at the wall and trying to act natural. "Uh, sorry about that. Guess I spaced out for a bit. Heh-heh…" For a brief moment, Akira felt somewhat glad that the Metaverse was erased so that Satanael couldn't sigh in his head at how miserably he pulled that off.

"Oh! No, I should be the one apologizing!" Haru stuttered, her face showing clear concern for her boyfriend. "I should have realized how tired you are from working so much lately. But my mind was too preoccupied with the movie to notice. I'm sorry."

"Wait, what?" Akira responded as he finished processing Haru's previous statement. "Oh, no! No-no-no-no-no-no-no-no!" He rushed around the counter, pulling Haru in for a concerned hug. "Everything's fine, Haru. There's no reason for you to apologize for anything. I'm the one who zoned out while you were talking. Which I really am sorry for, by the way."

"I suppose," Haru replied, wrapping her arms around Akira's torso to return the hug. "Still, I have every right to be concerned about you. I wouldn’t want you pushing yourself just for my sake."

"Haru," the black-haired boy stated firmly, "even if I were flat out exhausted, I would gladly spend as much time with you as you wanted. Your happiness is my top priority, no matter what."

"I know," she sighed softly into Akira's shoulder, quickly standing on her toes and giving him a quick peck on the cheek. "However, you should know that the feeling is mutual. If you really are too tired, I'd gladly forgo watching the movie and just talk instead."

Akira suddenly realized what was happening. This was it! This was his out! He didn't have to subject himself to what, considering the things he learned a minute ago, was probably a legitimately cursed film! His mouth curved into a smile and opened to speak the magic words to free him from his torment…

But nothing came out. He stopped himself. He just kept looking at the smiling girl in front of him, contemplating what he had just said. And just how much he meant it when he said that her happiness was more important than anything. The little voice screaming at him to just play along grew more and more quiet with each passing second as he realized what he needed to say. Or rather, what he wanted to say.

"I'll be fine," he answered with absolute sincerity. "I'm honestly not that tired. Besides, even Ryuji would be able to tell how much you're looking forward to this movie. We're watching The Gamemaster, and I won't take 'no' for an answer."

"Really?" Haru responded with a somewhat surprised tone.

"Really," Akira confirmed, leaning forward and pressing his lips to Haru's. She promptly followed suit, happily kissing him back. The kiss was gentle and calming, yet it still instilled a faint burning feeling in Akira's chest. It was exciting, yet it made him feel secure and at-home at the same time. He loved this feeling almost as much as he loved the amazing person who could instill it within him with just her presence.

By the time the kiss was broken, all the fear and uneasiness Akira was feeling had dissipated to the point of no longer being noticeable.

"Well," Haru giggled, "I suppose I can't refute such a convincing argument. If you truly are up for watching the film, I wouldn't want you to miss out." She flashed a large grin at Akira, failing at any attempt to contain her anticipation.

Akira smiled back cheerfully and ruffled her hair a bit (He had to. It was so dang fluffy!) before stepping away toward the kitchen. He was a bit reluctant to leave the hug, but his duties as Phantom Chef Joker could not be ignored.

"I'll make some popcorn and coffee," he called over as he dug through the kitchen cabinets. "Any blend requests?"

"Hmm… Jamaican Blue Mountain, please," she answered. "The soothing flavor should provide a nice contrast to the adrenaline from the film." Akira's face lit up at her show of expertise. Every reminder he'd received of how far Haru had come since she first started learning about coffee always filled him with an unbelievable sense of pride and accomplishment.

"An excellent choice," he chuckled through the massive grin on his face. "I'll be up in a couple minutes. Feel free to hang around in the meantime. Or you could set up the DVD if you really can't wait to get started."

"Well, as excited as I am for the film," Haru pondered, walking behind the counter, "I think I'd prefer to help out in the meantime. After all, if I only cared about the movie, I could simply watch on my own. I came here to spend time with you first and foremost." She quickly stood on her toes, planting a kiss on Akira's cheek.

Akira's mouth curved into an endeared smile and his hand reached up to ruffle Haru's hair. "Aww. You're so poetic." Haru giggled and leaned into the touch, hugging around his unoccupied arm and nuzzling against him. "I suppose I could relinquish control of the coffee machine for tonight. Practice makes perfect, so imagine what it could do for someone who's perfect already."

"Flattery will get you nowhere, Aki-kun." That was a lie. Haru fully enjoyed his loving hyperbole. "I do hope you respect me enough to judge the coffee with brutal honesty. I won't improve otherwise and you know it."

"Oh, fiiine," Akira agreed with play reluctance. "You work on that, I'll make the popcorn." The auburn-haired girl flashed him a beaming smile and kissed his shoulder. After letting go of his arm, she waltzed over to the counter area and started scanning the bean jars on the wall for Jamaican Blue Mountain, and Akira couldn't help watching with a massive grin across his face before turning to the cabinets and digging through for the box of kernels he'd bought yesterday.

Even if his comment about Haru being perfect was technically an exaggeration, Akira would be lying if he said he didn't mean it. And if it meant he could spend more time with her like this, he knew that any cursed films and nightmares that came with the territory would be more than worth it.

**Author's Note:**

> Futaba will always be Akira's trollish, yet well-meaning sister to me. And no worries, Akiren has a warm, adoring floof to help him ward off the nightmares ^^ (Hence the nickname "Harukuma" in installments set at a later date. Because she is a huggable teddy bear with a protective ferocious side)


End file.
